In Search of Barbacoa

City Paper’s Brion Shreffler rounds up some solid spots for Mexican barbacoa all over South Philadelphia.

Barbacoa in its truest sense — prepared in a covered pit — puts the focus on meat’s natural juices via a long, slow cook. In Hidalgo, Mexico, barbacoa masters take a pot equipped with a steam tray loaded with meat and cover it with maguey (agave) leaves, seal it with burlap and drop it onto a lit grill situated in a hole in the ground. That hole’s covered with earth ahead of a fire being set over top. Garlic, onions and spices sit in the water beneath the steam tray, while drippings from the meat inform the steam and the resulting consommé, or broth, that’s served on the side.